One of OprahMag.com’s Best Romances of 2020 Braden Mack thinks reading romance novels makes him an expert in love, but he’ll soon discover that real life is better than fiction. Liv Papandreas has a dream job as a sous chef at Nashville’s hottest restaurant. Too bad the celebrity chef owner is less than charming behind kitchen doors. After she catches him harassing a young hostess, she confronts … harassing a young hostess, she confronts him and gets fired. Liv vows revenge, but she’ll need assistance to take on the powerful chef.
Unfortunately, that means turning to Braden Mack. When Liv’s blackballed from the restaurant scene, the charismatic nightclub entrepreneur offers to help expose her ex-boss, but she is suspicious of his motives. He’ll need to call in reinforcements: the Bromance Book Club.
Inspired by the romantic suspense novel they’re reading, the book club assists Liv in setting up a sting operation to take down the chef. But they’re just as eager to help Mack figure out the way to Liv’s heart. . .even though she’s determined to squelch the sparks between them before she gets burned.
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Book two in the series. Love the concept of the men using romance novels to get their girl.
Loved it just as much as the first one!
One of my absolute favorite things about this book, and the series so far, is the friendships. The Bromance Book Club members are unflagging in their support of one another, as well as their razzing of one another, and the female friendships are just as strong and complex.
Liv and Mack are both wounded from their respective childhood’s but handle it in totally different ways. She’s cranky and standoffish while he’s bold and charismatic. They are opposites and she kind of hates him because he ate her food…but not to worry he knows that opposites attract and enemies to lovers makes for great romance!
I know some readers don’t like Liv for her rudeness and immaturity and others don’t like Mack for his over the top flirting and confidence. But I think they are both realistic products of childhood trauma, as adults we compensate in lots of ways.
This series is quickly becoming a favorite and I can’t wait for Noah and Alexis…and the back story of how they become BFFs!
This was the first time I have read this author and I must say, I am very impressed! I just adored the characters, loved the story line, and found myself laughing out loud many times. All in all this was a perfect book.
Olivia “Liv” Papandreas is a sous chef at Nashville’s hottest restaurant, Savoy, and completely detests her boss Royce Preston. Royce is an arrogant, SOB who has been known to harass most females who work for him, but thankfully he has never tried anything on her. Unfortunately, Liv walks in on Royce forcing himself on an employee; ends up getting herself fired, and vows to expose Royce for the low life piece of trash that he really is.
When Liv tries to find a new job she realizes that Royce has blackballed her from being hired anywhere so she reluctantly turns to Braden Mack, the man who helped cause her being fired, for help. What Liv didn’t expect was that she was actually going to really like Mack. Throw in all of his funny and famous friends and you can’t help but enjoy this story. I highly recommend it!
The best part of this book is the author’s writing style. It is perfect for those times a reader wants crisp dialogue, fun side characters and hot romance. Lyssa Kay Adams delivers these things in style. The men of the Bromance Book Club are back. I think it is fun as they try to understand the nature of women through romance novels. The way they try to apply nuggets of truth is very amusing. I enjoy parts of this book so much, but am also uncomfortable about certain aspects of the main plot line. Whereas the previous book, The Bromance Book Club, was a light-hearted revelation, Undercover Bromance, includes the topic of workplace abuse including sexual harassment and assault.
Liv Papandreas is working for one of Nashville’s celebrity chefs. Unfortunately, he is also an abusive egomaniac who likes to take credit for other people’s work. Liv gets in his crosshairs and is fired, but she finds out that his abusiveness extends to sexual harassment and assault. Liv engages in a crusade to reveal his outrageous behavior and Braden Mack (of the Bromance Book Club) is the perfect person to help her do this. My biggest concern is although Liv wants to help these women, ultimately, she is at the center of her own story. She wants to help them in the way that she wants to help them, not give them what they may need or even give them more options for help. Ironically, I think this is the point. Liv needs to let go of her own judgment of her friends and coworkers that were exploited by this chef. I’m just not sure that I fully got there.
My other critique is that this book is missing some of the charm of the original book. Maybe it is because Braden comes across as too cocky about his knowledge about women because he reads romance novels. I missed the vulnerability of the main character. I also missed the story-within-the-story technique. I thought that was a unique feature that allowed the reader to infer more depth into the characters and situations.
In a nutshell, I still love the premise of this series. It has great promise for more fun and sexy stories. I don’t give this one my highest recommendation, but it does have appeal.
Every once in a while a book comes along that turns out to be exactly what you needed at exactly that moment. Undercover Bromance is one of those books for me. For various reasons, I really needed a good laugh, and this one provided plenty of them. Now, that’s not to say this one doesn’t have its serious moments. It most certainly does, and it’s certainly current, especially in light of a certain well-known predator being sentenced so recently. Lyssa Kay Adams manages to walk that line between respectfully shedding light on a serious topic and tempering the serious with moments that are downright hilarious. I laughed so hard, I actually snorted a couple of times, which did earn a few odd looks from those around me, but hey, this stuff was funny! From Mack’s predicament with the chickens and one contrary rooster to the bets to the Russian – OMG, the Russian! This guy is a scene-stealer of the highest order, and I really want more of him – anyway, I found myself laughing more than not, and I loved this one from beginning to end. Our couple here is Mack and Liv, who give us a kind of enemies to lovers romance, which is always great for some witty banter, and this couple did not disappoint. I’ll stop now before I start giving spoilers, but suffice it to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this well-written, fast-paced, crazy fun read.
Undercover Bromance, book 2 in the Bromance Book Club series by Lyssa Kay Adams met all of my expectations! Braden Mack founder of the Bromance Book Club is the ultimate playboy who is finally ready for his happily ever after. He finds his match with Liv Papandreas a sassy, strong, independent pastry chef who needs more than expensive dates to be impressed and wooed by any man. She cant be fooled by the techniques hes picked up in his romance “manuals”.
Liv and Mack are polar opposites who start off as enemies. Mack accidentally gets Liv in trouble and on the verge of getting fired from her job working for the ultimate bad guy Royce Preston. A man who believes that money and power can cover up and get you anything you want. Liv witnesses her boss in a compromising situation in which he is sexually harassing a colleague and refuses to stay quiet. Mack and Liv join forces to expose Royce for the predator he is. Slowly realizing that what they may be feeling for each other is more than just fun banter and chemistry.
Lyssa managed to navigate this sensitive subject matter while including so many laugh out loud and fun moments! I truly love all the members of the Bromance Book Club. Every time they’re around you can’t help but wonder what kind of shenanigans they will get themselves in next. They’re the ultimate good guys who always have each other’s backs in love and justice.
” Is It Grand Gesture Time??!!”
This book is more than a romance novel, these characters are truly a family. I enjoyed being a part of their club and can’t wait for book three!
Undercover Bromance is an entertaining follow-up to The Bromance Book Club. Mack is the misunderstood single, cocky, and rather annoying nightclub owner who founded the club. This time around, instead of dishing out advice, he’s the one in need of love lessons.
Liv is Thea’s sister from the previous book. She’s a pastry chef who has difficulty trusting men thanks to a suitcase full of Daddy issues. When Liv is blacklisted by her immoral vengeful boss, Mack’s hero complex kicks in and he insists on teaming up to with Liv to take down the celebrity chef.
Often times in romance novels, either the male or female protagonist has a major flaw that causes a roadblock on their path to love. This story is more balanced and it does a good job highlighting the areas of growth for both characters while also making them appealing. I love Liv’s fierce independence and snark. Mack’s vulnerability and respect for women completely won me over.
The men in the book club engage is some well-meaning ribbing of Mack but they always have his back. I wish the story incorporated discussion of the romantic suspense book they are studying more so that it increasingly parallels Mack and Liv’s relationship.
The book is light and lively. An easy read that goes down sweet.
*An early copy was received to voluntarily review.
Anyone who knows me can tell you that The Bromance Book Club was one of my favourite reads in 2019, so obviously I was beyond excited that Adams was releasing a sequel starring Mack and Liv (my two favourite characters).
I figured I’d love Undercover Bromance just as much as The Bromance Book Club, but I was wrong. I loved it SO MUCH MORE! I was unexpectedly blown away with this. This book was wow. Just wow. No other word can explain. WOW!
Just going by the synopsis you can tell this was going to be a vastly different story from the first book. But one way it differs is that there is less “focus” on the book that the club is reading. We don’t get excerpts like we did in the first book, but I feel like if we did, it would have thrown off the story. It wasn’t necessary to the narrative like it was for Gavin and Thea.
Instead we got a very emotional story. I cried several times in the second half because I could completely feel the pain of the memories that Mack and Liv were experiencing. This book broke my heart and put it back together in a new and beautiful way.
And don’t worry. While it is emotional, the book is also completely hilarious. Adams has a way with words. I loved this story and I hope we get to see more of everyone’s favourite book club.
Now for some potential spoilers. If you don’t want any plot points spoiled, stop reading now:
As mentioned in the synopsis, Liv witnesses her boss sexually harassing her colleague. I’m bringing this up because it has a potential to be a trigger warning.
Adams takes care with bringing attention to sexual harassment in the workplace and handles the topic of toxic masculinity in a very affective way.
I really loved the first book in this series and I was hoping that this book would be just as good. It was good but, imo, not as good as the first one. Liv is cranky all the time and I can’t see why someone would fall for another person who is like that. I loved Mack and the rest of the Bromance Book Club members. Especially, the Russian. It was a fun read and I can’t wait for the next in the series.
Something that I didn’t like so much, a lot of repetition. Men would flip each other off, Liv would “fake gag” over things many times, and my biggest pet peeve – winking. The first book had that but, and I counted, this book had 16 winking scenes, even one time during sex. Some women might like it, and in certain circumstances like conspiratorial times, like wink wink nudge nudge, it great, I can get behind that. But just because you are a guy and you want to wink at a pretty girl that doesn’t work all the time.
I would definitely recommend this book. Lot’s of fun with some great characters.
Undercover Bromance is the second book in the Bromance Book Club series by Lyssa Kay Adams. I loved the first book and was looking forward to reading the next book. Undercover Bromance is Liv and Braden’s story. Liv finds out that her horrible boss has been sexually harassing women at work. She loses her job after she confronts him about it. She vows to expose him, a celebrity chef, to the public, so he will pay for his actions. But to do so, she will need Braden’s help, whom she doesn’t particularly like. The other members of the book club also get involved in Liv and Braden’s revenge plans.
I enjoyed this book immensely. It was funny and smart. Braden and Liv have great chemistry. The plot of workplace harassment adds some levity to an otherwise lighthearted read. I loved the first book just a tad more, but, overall, Undercover Bromance was very satisfying. I cannot wait to read the next book, Crazy Stupid Bromance. This series is quickly becoming one of my favorites.
After falling in love with the Bromance Book Club last year I couldn’t wait for the follow-up, Undercover Bromance. Mack was one of my favorite secondary characters in the first book, so I couldn’t wait to get his story. Especially when I confirmed it was with Thea’s prickly sister, Liv. I had high expectations for this book and I’m thrilled to say it delivered. There was just so much to love about this book.
One of the things I loved most about Undercover Bromance was the dynamic between Liv and Mack. There was a lot of push-pull between them, which resulted in a really good slow burn. Liv was strong-willed and determined, and a fierce feminist. She was also entirely closed off to the idea of a relationship and well men, in general, it seemed sometimes. Liv was intense, but I felt like I “got” her. She was very relatable to me. Mack, the romance-reading nightclub owner, might have seemed like an odd match for a woman who couldn’t stand romance novels (or men, most of the time) but they worked so well. He wore his heart on his sleeve and gave me all the heart eyes.
Undercover Bromance balanced the more serious topic of workplace sexual harassment with the lighter-hearted romance (and a few sexy times). There were plenty of giggles and swoons along the way. (Side note: PLEASE tell me the Russian is going to get a book. I’m half in love with him already and want more.) I’m loving this series and can’t wait for more.
Favorite Quotes:
“I don’t want a man. I don’t have time for a man. They’re needy, clingy, and never keep their promises.”
“Damn, girl. Who hurt you?”
“The patriarchy.”
“Mack, for someone who has read every manual out there, you sure are clueless about your own story sometimes.”
“You live in a castle that you built for a princess who doesn’t exist. You’re a softy inside… I don’t want to be the one who breaks that tender heart.”
Fantastic second book in the hilarious, “Bromance Book Club,” romantic-comedy series
Braden Mack and Liv Papandreas are important subcharacters in the first book in this series, The Bromance Book Club (BBC). It is not absolutely essential to read BBC before reading Undercover Bromance (UB), but BBC is so wonderful that I highly recommend it. Braden is a professional baseball player and teammate of the hero of BBC, Gavin, as well as Gavin’s best friend and beloved babysitter of Gavin’s preschool-age, twin daughters. Liv is the sister of Thea, the heroine of BBC, and doting aunt to her adorable little nieces. I am so delighted that Braden and Liv have gotten their own chance to take the spotlight here in UB!
This story is a classic, “enemies to lovers” and “opposites attract” romantic comedy. Braden is a laid-back people person, and Liv is an uptight, grouchy loner. They already knew each other from the events in BBC, but their initial Meet Cute in this book is riotously funny. To his guilty dismay, Braden is accidentally instrumental in getting Liv fired from a prestigious job as a sous chef at a fancy Nashville restaurant owned and managed by a celebrity chef. The job was a crucial stepping stone in her career, which was the only reason Liv spent over a year putting up with the boss from hell. Not only is the chef verbally abusive to his staff, but Liv discovers from one of her fellow apprentice chefs the night he fires her that the chef has sexually abused her coworker and may well have done the same to multiple other female apprentice chefs. As a result, on top of her anger and resentment at her own unjust firing, Liv is filled with a righteous determination to take down her scummy boss. In the process of seeking out Liv to apologize for his part in her firing, Braden learns of her quest and insists on helping her, in spite of Liv’s equally strong determination to go it alone.
Just like BBC, UB is filled with humor and heart. Braden is the founder of the Bromance Book Club, a small, tightly-knit group of big, strong, macho-appearing baseball players who read romance novels together to gain important life lessons. “Romance novels,” they gravely inform any new members of their group, “are primarily written by women for women, and they’re entirely about how they want to be treated and what they want out of life and in a relationship.” Braden is the ultimate, enlightened, metrosexual male, which is a source of a significant portion of the humor in the book. It is both comedic and impressive hearing him lecture big gruff men on how to be more sensitive and understanding toward the women in their lives.
Liv is a real fireball. Life has taught her to distrust all men, and the latest fiasco with her horrible boss hasn’t done anything to improve her opinion of the male half of the population. Though Liv can sometimes come off as bitter and alienated, two things soften her harsh edges and make her very sympathetic. The first is the sharp intelligence displayed in the witty repartee slung between her and Braden. The second is her deep love and loyalty for her sister and nieces and her best-friend relationship with her fun and feisty landlady, a sixty-something hippie who lives on a farm.
In addition to the landlady, there are many other hilariously adorable subcharacters in this novel, including cameo appearances by Gavin and Thea and their little twin girls and many of Braden’s teammates whom we first met in BBC. There is also a wonderful secondary romance between the feminist, hippie landlady and an arch-conservative old coot whom Braden helps enlighten on how to go about winning the heart of his stubbornly self-sufficient lady love.
This is a slow-burn romance, which I very much enjoy. The sex scenes between Braden and Liv are very tender as well as sensual, and they always advance the relationship rather than existing just to throw in some graphic sex—a failure of far too many romance novels.
In short, this book is a real keeper, and I very much look forward to the next book in this fabulous series.
I rate this book as follows:
Heroine: 5 stars
Hero: 5 stars
Subcharacters: 5 stars
Romance Plot: 5 stars
Secondary Romance Plot: 5 stars
Take Down the Boss Plot: 4 stars
Bromance Bookclub Plot: 5 stars
Writing: 5 stars
Overall : 5 stars
Lyssa Kay Adams’ Undercover Bromance is the 2nd book of the Bromance series. Liv Papendreas has a dream job as a sous chef at Nashville’s hottest restaurant. Too bad the celebrity chef owner is less than charming behind the kitchen doors. After she catches him harassing a young hostess, she confronts him and gets fired. Live vows revenge, but she needs help to take down a powerful chef. Unfortunately, that means she needs Braden Mack, a man who thinks reading romance novels makes him as expert in love. He calls in reinforcements of the Bromance Book Club along with the help of a romance suspense novel they are reading to set up a sting operation to take down the chef. In doing so, the guys help Mack finds his way into Liv’s heart, even though she’s determined to squelch the sparks between them before she gets burned.
Lyssa Kay Adams creates a recipe of humorous elements, motivational excepts from a romance suspense novel, and a supporting cast of the Bromance Book Club of men with big hearts behind their masculinity and muscles in this slow burn enemies-to-lovers romance between Mack and Liv. The humor balances the heavier themes of workplace harassment, making Undercover Bromance a fun book to read and unwind after a hard day. The book’s release date is March 10, 2020, so look for your copy! I received this copy from Berkley Publishing in exchange for my honest review.
My Thoughts:
I didn’t think it could be possible, but this series just keeps getting better! Undercover Bromance is the second book in the Bromance Book Club. These books can be read as standalones. Each book focuses on a different couple, and features the Bromance Book Club as a strong and colorful cast of supporting characters.
In this book, we get Braden Mack and Liv Papandreas’ love story told through their dual perspectives. Liv is a talented pastry chef at Savoy, a top notch restaurant, where she works for the famous reality star, owner, and despicable head chef of the establishment. When she catches him sexually harassing a young hostess, she is outraged, and speaks up, only to be fired, and blacklisted.
Braden offers to help bring down Liv’s ex-boss, and even though Liv is determined to do it on her own, Braden won’t take “no” for an answer. He enlists the help of his best friends, members of the Bromance Book Club. What follows is a page-turning, fun, humorous, entertaining, and romantic love story.
Undercover Bromance was such a treat! This story had me smiling, chuckling, and laughing out loud at the love story that developed between Braden and Liv, as well as the shenanigans of the bromance book club members.
Liv struggled with trusting others, especially members of the opposite sex. She refused to lean on anyone, and was determined to do everything on her own. Braden was a modern day, “Knight in Shining Armor.” I loved how his actions showed Liv that good men exist. She didn’t make it easy on him, but through patience, determination, and persistence, Braden managed to break down her walls.
He was lonely, and wanted love, and a family all his own. Braden thought by being “perfect,” and living life by a manual, (his romance novels), he could get what he wanted. However, he learned that “real” or authentic, wasn’t perfect; and all of the crazy feelings that Liv stirred up in him, and drove him crazy in a good way, where what true love was all about.
I loved Braden and Liv’s story. The pages just flew by, and I completely escaped in this book. I loved every moment of this story, and didn’t want it to end. It had me swooning and excited for the intense, and passionate love that Braden and Liv experienced. I thoroughly enjoyed the camaraderie and friendships from the Bromance Book Club Members. They were fun, hilarious, and entertaining. When things got tough, they were always there for Braden and each other.
I liked the way the author addressed the issues of sexual harassment, woman’s rights, and treatment in our society. She gave women a voice and delivered a strong message about blaming the victim, women supporting women, and people standing up, instead of passively standing by when they witness the abuse and ill treatment of women in our society.
If you are looking for an entertaining, super fast paced, fun, humorous, and romantic read, check out Undercover Bromance!
After meeting Mack in the previous book, I couldn’t wait for him to find his own happy ever after. He was just as charming and lovably over the top in Undercover Bromance as he was in the first book, and I enjoyed seeing him and Liz verbally spar and go head to head. There was lots of fun banter and a delicious build up between them (the innuendo filled scene at Mack’s house was the best!), but as much as I liked Liv and Mack, I didn’t love them. It took a bit for me to get into the story and I felt like the pacing was a little slow. I never truly felt hooked or invested in what was happening. The ending wrapped up a little too neatly and quickly, but the epilogue left me smiling. I did appreciate that the author tackled some heavier topics ([sexual harassment, domestic violence, sexual assault (hide spoiler)]) throughout the novel and they were balanced really well with the laugh out loud moments.
I love the idea behind the Bromance Book Club series, so I definitely missed that there wasn’t an ongoing accompanying “manual” story this time around to go with Mack and Liv’s journey. There is a book that is mentioned a few times and highlighted once, but I would have loved to see it incorporated more into the story. I enjoyed seeing the other members of the club and catching up with Gavin and Thea. The Russian provided some great comic relief and we finally find out his name! I’m curious to see if he will be the hero of the next book (although a certain mysterious IT guy and Liv’s friend, Alexis, both had quite a bit of page time too). Overall, this was a fun read, but sadly, I didn’t love it.
*I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*
I really enjoyed The Bromance Book Club, so it was a no brainer to read Undercover Bromance.
I mean, this is all about Braden Mack – who doesn’t want more of him after book one?
I enjoyed the story of this installment. It was well paced, enjoyable and I both laughed and got sad at times as the story continued.
The one thing that bugged me about the story? Our leading lady Liv. Gah, she is so darn frustrating. She came across as spoiled and bratty and I just wanted to shake some sense into her. I get being strong and independant, but she took it to the extreme and OTT and made her just come across as unlikable – but this could just be me.
I loved seeing more of Gavin and Thea from the first book, and all the Bromance Book Club guys.
I hope we get The Russian’s story!