Audiobook Review: Isn’t It Bromantic? (Bromance Book Club #4)

Author: Lyssa Kay Adams

Narrator: Andrew Eiden

Audiobook Length: 9 hours 55 minutes

With his passion for romance novels, it was only a matter of time before Vlad took up the pen to write a novel the Bromance Book Club would swoon over.

Elena Konnikova has lived her entire adult life in the shadows. As the daughter of a Russian journalist who mysteriously disappeared after speaking out against government corruption, she escaped danger the only way she knew how. She agreed to marry her childhood friend, Vladimir, and move 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 after four years, 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 senior citizen neighbors, a group of meddling widows who call themselves The Loners. Just when things finally look promising, the danger from Elena’s past life intrudes, and the book club will face their first-ever life-or-death grand gesture as they race to a happy ever after. 

Isn’t It Bromantic is the fourth novel in the Bromance Book Club series where Russian hockey player looks Vladimir Konnikov finally gets his own story. I love the concept of these novels and how they break down the stigma that romance novels are only for women. This group of men have different backgrounds, life goals, and personalities yet they are tied together through their love of romance novels. The stories mainly consist of overlapping characters and stories and each character has their own path to love. Since each features a new main character, each novel could be read as a standalone or they can be read in order as a series as some events carry through from one story to the next.

Unlike most of the members of the Book Club, Vlad has been married for the last few years, although none of the members have met his wife, Elena Konnikov. The two of them married for convenience, but Elena soon ended up moving to another city. They remained married for visa purposes although they still care for each other. When Elena receives a call from the hospital after Vlad is injured, she races to his side and the two of them stay close as he recovers. Throughout the story, the reader learns more about Elena and her dream to follow in her father’s footsteps as a journalist along with Vlad’s romance novel that he is writing. As Vlad and Elena become reacquainted, the readers learn more about how they got together and if it is possible for them to stay a couple. I enjoyed learning about their backstory and since this is a dual POV, I liked being able to see both sides of their feelings.

In addition to seeing the familiar members of the book club, readers are introduced to The Loners, featuring Andrea, Claud, Linda, and Michelle, who are a group of widows that are close with Vlad. Since I’m familiar with Vlad’s interactions with the main book club, it was nice to see this part of his life and how Elena fit into this world. As Vlad is reconnecting with Elena and trying to understand her world, it was nice to see him also learn more about her. I am glad that Adams finally wrote a story for Vlad as it did not initially seem one would be produced. His character was always a standout since the beginning, and I love seeing his story develop. Overall, this was a great addition to the series. As this seems to be on the list of novels to be adapted by Netflix, it will be interesting to see how that turns out. In the meantime, I am looking forward to the fifth novel, which will be released soon!