Crazy Stupid Bromance

Romance3 Stars

Jul 21

⭐⭐⭐

It can be a challenge for authors to keep a romance series going strong, as they have to find a balance between keeping the same feel of the first without getting repetitive or too over the top. *Crazy Stupid Bromance* is the third in the series, and it stumbles slightly. The mean rooster from the previous book has been replaced by a mean cat, and instead of an overprotective rich businessman we have an overprotective hacker. (At least he’s reformed.) I would guess this one came during the peak of the Karen discourse online, as a subplot in the book is about a petty neighbor literally named Karen who hates the café Alexis owns.

Overall I have no major complaints - the primary plot eases off of some of the heavier topics from the last book, and if I cared less about Alexis and Colton, I think that was far more personal preference than any issue on the side of the writer. For anyone who was frustrated by the tendencies of the women in the first two books to be a little too self-centered, Alexis is the complete opposite. She’s easily the most likable heroine we’ve seen so far. The book is a little light on plot at times, and the big fight at the end seemed weaker when compared to the previous books. But it stayed true to the often corny lessons of the Bros, and is the exact brand of wholesome fluff that the world needs sometimes. If you like the series, this is still worth reading especially because (spoiler!) book 4 is up next and it's one of my favorites in the series.

I paired it with a strawberry daiquiri as the sweetest variant I could think of. This is the perfect book to read on a shady porch on a hot summer day, drinking the pinkest cocktail you can find and wearing an oversized sunhat. I’ll also accept reading it on a beach while on vacation, fully aware it’ll be donated to the rental house’s take one/leave one library at the end of the trip.

Strawberry daiquiri was the plan anyway. I could NOT convince myself I wanted to drink one at any point this week, so I cheated. Instead I made up a simple virgin daiquiri; replacing the simple syrup and rum with ginger ale. I don’t have a blender so I crushed some ice and muddled 5 strawberries into a paste, then attempted layers of each in a wine glass. I topped it off with a tiny umbrella made out of the end of a lime and a toothpick. Not great execution but it gave me a good giggle, so totally worth it. In future I might not muddle the strawberries quite so much to get prettier layers but they gave great flavor. I would also probably swap the ginger ale for sparkling water or a faux-liquor of choice. The ginger ale/lime/strawberries were delicious, but still a little sweet for my taste. Below is the original recipe I planned to do as well as what I actually ended up drinking.

Strawberry Daiquiri:

1 1/2 ounces rum
1 ounce rich simple syrup
3/4 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
4 to 5 large strawberries

Add the rum, rich simple syrup, lime juice and strawberries into a blender with 5 to 6 ice cubes and blend until smooth. Pour into a Margarita glass or wine goblet, and garnish as desired.

https://www.liquor.com/recipes/strawberry-daiquiri/

Virgin Strawberry Daiquiri: