Narrated by Andrew Eiden
The guys of the Bromance Book Club take us into the festive season with A Very Merry Bromance, book five in the series, and the romance between country music star Colton Wheeler and prickly lawyer Gretchen Winthrop, a grumpy/sunshine pairing with a bit of Scrooge-y Bah! Humbug! thrown in for good measure.
Gretchen was born into one of Tennessee’s wealthiest families, but growing up in the lap of luxury was no substitute for having a family who loved and cared about her. Her father was always buried in work, her mother was more concerned with how things looked than being a good mother and her brother was… well, the less said about him, the better. She was expected to join the family business, but instead, set up her own immigration law practice – something her family still regards as a fad, even though she’s been running it for over a decade. Christmas was always a big disappointment – her mother hired people to decorate the house and install a tree and gifts were purchased by flunkeys – and after so many years of enduring something fake and cold, she decided not to bother with it. She’s estranged from her family, doesn’t have many friends and dislikes the over the top consumerism of the holiday period, preferring to keep working to help those who are far more disadvantaged than herself.
Colton’s experiences growing up couldn’t have been more different. His family might not have had much money, but they’re close-knit and caring and he absolutely loves Christmas which, for him, has always been a time full of joy, love and togetherness. He’s been thoroughly smitten with Gretchen since they hooked up on the night of Mack and Liv’s (Undercover Bromance) wedding and had even thought that maybe that night would prove to be the start of something real between them. So when, the next morning, Gretchen can’t wait to hot foot it out the door, he’s disappointed – and just a bit hurt when she vows him to silence about what happened. He’s not sure he likes being someone’s dirty little secret.
Gretchen is surprised to receive a call from her brother Evan, the CEO of the family whiskey distilling business. He tells Gretchen that a seat will shortly be opening up on the board of the Winthrop Charitable Foundation, and that he will put her name forward if she’s interested (which she is and he knows it) – but he wants something in return. He’s heard (somehow) that she knows Colton Wheeler and wants her to talk to him about his becoming their new brand ambassador. Gretchen’s heart sinks. She’s deliberately avoided talking to Colton for a whole year and had intended to keep it that way but now… well, yes, she wants that seat on the foundation board badly enough to do as Evan asks.
Colton, meanwhile, is in a bit of a tough spot with his record label, who are unimpressed by his latest songs and want him to work with some other songwriters to create new material for his next album. He’s not happy – but can’t quite deny that he’s been off his game for the past few months. Or year. He’s gone to his favourite haunt – a dark, musty pub where he can sit in peace without being recognised every ten seconds, and where the barman, Duff, has a real talent for calling out Colton’s bullshit – to lick his wounds for a bit and listen to some live music when the last person he expects to see walks in and makes a beeline for him. Stunned at Gretchen’s unexpected appearance, Colton is even more so when she tells him why she’s there. She ghosted him for a year and says that their night together was a mistake – unsurprisingly, Colton is not inclined to listen to any proposal and turns her down flat.
Later, though, Colton realises he acted badly and decides to try to make things right. He goes to see Gretchen and says he’ll reconsider the offer – if she’ll have dinner with him. Backed into yet another corner, Gretchen agrees.
It’s a dick move (which he later realises and apologises for), but otherwise, Colton is a great hero, charming, funny, easy-going, and genuinely taken with Gretchen, wanting nothing more than to make her smile – and to prove to her that Christmas is a wonderful time of the year and she’s missing out by not wanting anything to do with it. It took me longer to warm to Gretchen (which has been the case in most the other books in this series; the author has the knack for creating wonderful heroes, but I’ve found her heroines less likeable), as she comes across as quite judgmental and is so determined to push Colton away that for a while, I almost wished he’d give up and set his sights elsewhere! But as the story progresses, it’s clear that Gretchen has very good reasons for her dislike of the season, and once we become aware of those, it’s easy to understand why she’s so prickly and why she’s so reluctant to let anyone get close. Of course, she’s toast in the face of Colton’s relentless cheerfulness, and their grumpy/sunshine pairing works really well as, over several dates – a Christmas market and tree decorating among them – he shows her what Christmas really should be – and re-discovers his artistic muse along the way. Colton is quick to recognise the hurt Gretchen has buried for so long and is steadfast in his defence and support of her, especially in the face of her awful family.
The guys of the Bromance Book Club are on hand to call Colton out when he’s being an insensitive prat, or to provide dating advice – and special mention goes to the cameo from Roman, the sexy, elusive Cheese Man – the God of Gouda, the Prince of Provolone, the Captain of Curd. I also really liked Duff, who calls Colton “Princess”, is impressed by no-one (especially not Colton) and doesn’t let him get away with anything. But Colton’s career troubles play second – even third – fiddle to Gretchen’s issues; there’s a scene at the beginning to set up the conflict between him and his label, but after that, we get a few mentions here and there, but that plotline doesn’t really go anywhere and feels like an afterthought.
Andrew Eiden’s narration is once again excellent. It’s well-paced and clearly differentiated, and he finds a good variety of character voices for a fairly large cast. I admit there were a couple of the guys of the BBC whose voices were a bit difficult for me to identify without dialogue tags, but that wasn’t a major issue, and all the other secondary characters are portrayed really well. The gruffness in Duff’s speech really reflects his good-natured grouchiness, Roman is smoooooothness personified, and Evan sounds like the supercilious, condescending prick he is. I liked Mr. Eiden’s portrayal of Gretchen – he does a great job of conveying the vulnerability that lies behind her prickly exterior, and of course, he’s perfect as Colton, a terrific mix of boy-next-door charm and growly sexiness.
A Very Merry Bromance is an enjoyable mix of fluffy and serious with feels, humour and plenty of festive cheer.
Caz
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