You're at a 12 and We Need You at an 8

I have to say, I was not a fan of this book. The idea of a bromance bookclub, of a book in the romance genre, actually had me pretty excited. It's a cool premise and I always enjoy a good love story. However, I only had one question on my mind during my time reading it. Is this book for, or against the ideals it's trying to convey?

What I mean is, it read sort of like a parody that South Park would do to make fun of feminism and the romance genre. It just went so hard that it came off as not genuine. The songs it referenced were so on the nose, it just lacked any sort of subtly. I kept thinking that surely and old man born, raised, and who lived their whole lives in the 50's had written this, and that the author name given is just a penname. And this goes back to my point that the book read as a parody, because it all just seemed so unreal. The dialogue, the characterization, the situations, they were all just outlandish caricatures. I found it hard to really get into the book when Gavin was spouting off just random nonsense instead of swearing. I understand it was meant to be funny, but again it just lacked any subtly or tact and came off as something a teenage boy would say to get around the no swearing policy his parents had. The idea of Gavin using old English curses is a good idea and could have been very funny. It just went a little too extra in trying to be funny that it ended up jumping the mark.

But I will admit this could just be me having a different taste in writing style and humor. What really turned me off was the way the characters were written. The amount of times Thea nearly creamed her pants because of Gavin's muscles, I don't believe that just a few days earlier she was gunning for a divorce. And the thing is I think the book fails because it tries to be two different things at the same time, in multiple ways. It tries to have Thea be a strong, rebellious character with a good backstory. And then it makes her have what I can only describe as porn logic. Oh, she's angry at Gavin for trying to tempt her with his body? She should totally strip naked and put on a show for him and the reader because that's what a woman contemplating divorce thinks is a fitting way to get back at her husband. It tried to portray her as strong, only to immediately make her the most submissive and weak-willed character in the book. If the book had chosen and stuck with the theme it was going for, it would have worked much better no matter which way it went. But it tried to have its cake and eat it too and failed miserably.

Surprisingly, I really enjoyed the tail-end of the book. It stuck to a more traditional romance style and the consistency in narrative and characterization actually drew me in. But I'll also say if it had ended up with them splitting up, Thea going on to live her best life, Gavin having failed to win her back, I'd have liked it too. The simple fact that that it finally stopped wish-washing and contradicting itself actually made me enjoy the book's ending.