By Lyssa Kay Adams 

Jove/Berkley, 2021. 342 pages. Romance 

As the daughter of a Russian journalist who mysteriously disappeared, Elena Konnikova 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. The bros are unwilling to let Vlad forgo true love, so they join forces with Vlad's neighbors, a group of meddling widows. But just when things finally look promising, Elena's past life intrudes and their happily ever after is cast into doubt. 

This might be the best Bromance Book Club book yet. Vlad is sweet, kind, and endearing. He is the sincerest of all of the book club bros, and is even writing his own romance novel. And Elena is spunky, independent, and just learning how to open herself up. Her backstory is heartbreaking and Vlad has supported and cared for her for years. There are lots of romance tropes, but they are done in a refreshing and fun manner. This is a great book for anyone who likes contemporary romances or bromances. 

If you like Isn’t It Bromantic, you might also like: 

By Any Other Name 

By Lauren Kate 

G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2022. 286 pages. Romance 

With a successful career as a romance editor, and an engagement to a man who checks off all ninety-nine boxes on her curated list, Lanie's killing it. Then she's given the opportunity of a lifetime: to work with world-renowned author Noa Callaway. All Lanie has to do is cure Noa's writer's block and she'll get the promotion she's always dreamed of. But there's a reason no one has ever seen or spoken to the mysterious Noa Calloway. And that reason will call into question everything she thought she knew. When she finally tosses her ninety-nine expectations to the wind, Lanie may just discover that love By Any Other Name can still be as sweet. 

Book Lovers 

By Emily Henry 

Berkley, 2022. 377 pages. Romance 

Nora Stephens' life is books--she's read them all--and she is not a heroine. Not the plucky one or the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her little sister Libby. She agrees to a girls’ trip for Libby, but Libby has visions of a small town transformation for Nora, who she's convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they've met many times and it's never been cute. If Nora knows she's not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he's nobody's hero, but as they are thrown together again and again--in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow--what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they've written about themselves. 

The Love Hypothesis 

By Ali Hazelwood 

Jove, 2021. 373 pages. Romance 

As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn't believe in lasting romantic relationships--but her best friend does. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating and on her way to a happily ever after will require proof. So, like any self-respecting biologist, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees. That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor--and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when he agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire, putting Olive's career on the Bunsen burner, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding...six-pack abs. Suddenly their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. And Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.

TT